Schear Investment Advisers LLC Purchases New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE MA opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $532.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $507.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $518.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.